Squad car makeover heightens visibility

Tuesday

Nov 29, 2011 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2011 at 7:17 AM

The Bayview Gardens Police Department heightened its visibility recently. The village's only squad car has been equipped with a new set of emergency lights. A modern, light-emitting-diode display now sits atop the department's 2004 Ford Crown Victoria.

The village's only squad car has been equipped with a new set of emergency lights. A modern, light-emitting-diode display now sits atop the department's 2004 Ford Crown Victoria.

"They weren't very bright, and they were getting worn out," Police Chief Norm Schaer said about the previous setup, which featured old-fashioned rotating lights. "You could hear the motors running in them."

No such problem with the brand-new, predominantly blue-and-red gear. The Whelen Justice Super-LED Series Lightbar has no such motor.

The bright flash of the new display can be difficult to overlook once the sun goes down. That's key in a place like Bayview Gardens, which is situated between the Illinois River and a hill.

According to Schaer, night can fall hard in such a location.

"You get up north of here and stop a car where all those hills and hollows are, it can get very, very dark," he said.

That darkness and the age of the previous equipment had combined to pose a safety risk, Schaer said. The problem was more acute when police stopped motorists along Illinois Route 26, the main thoroughfare through town.

"I almost got clipped a few times," said Kenny Hall, the department's only other officer.

Schaer said the cost of a new light system appeared to be prohibitive. But village officials contacted the Woodford County Sheriff's Department, which put them in touch with a Chicago-area dealer of public-safety equipment.

The total cost of the new display was a little more than $1,200, about $400 less than anticipated, Schaer said. Installation was completed about three weeks ago.